(Recast paragraph 1 with UK law enforcement talks, adds context)

July 15 (Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Thursday it was in talks with UK law enforcement officials to help support investigations into racist abuse online against English football players after their recent loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

The black England players were subjected to a storm of racist abuse online after their loss in the final of the football tournament, drawing wide condemnation from the captain, manager, royalty, religious leaders and politicians on the team.

The comments also sparked a police investigation, though critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy for refusing to support a high-profile anti-racist stance players took during the tournament.

Facebook said it was in discussions with the UK National Council of Chiefs of Police, the UK Home Office Football Police Unit and local police forces to understand how it can support active investigations, while ensuring that valid data requests are submitted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday pledged to toughen measures against online hate, banning gaming fans if convicted of such offenses and fining social media for not having it deleted.

Social media companies, including Facebook and Twitter Inc, have come under fire for amplifying hate speech and disinformation globally on their platforms.

Facebook also removed over 25 million hate speech messages from its platform and over 6 million Instagram posts containing words or emojis promoting racism, in the first three months of the year. he said in a blog post https: // www. facebook.com/business/news/what-were-doing-to-tackle-online-haine. (Reporting by Eva Mathews and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; editing by Ramakrishnan M.)